Big Bend National Park encompasses over 800,000 acres. You could stay forever and not see every nook and cranny. It is a little known paradise that most are unaware of. This is one of the least visited parks in our National Park System. So even the solitude and quiet are big. Big Bend Ranch State Park has 275,000 acres, with calderas, mountains, desert, and longhorn cattle. This state park was a working cattle ranch since the pioneers came to the area and on its vast surface you'll find Indian pictographs, old Indian camps, tinajas and waterfalls.
On hiking trails in both parks, of which there are many, most of the year you'll not encounter even one other person. If you venture off the main road on one of the backroads, you seldom see another vehicle. And on the river, that magical ribbon of life lined with trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, you can experience the true feeling of wilderness.
The river gave this piece of Texas its' name, by bending like an elbow, to cradle the desert and the Chisos Mountains in the 'crook' of the Big Bend. Indians lived here for thousands of years before the Spanish took possession. But none have ever really 'possessed' this country, rather, the country claimed them as its' possession. And so the land remains the same although the inhabitants have changed from Indian to Spanish to Anglo over the years. Man has not put asunder what God has made in the Big Bend.
The small communities that dot the desert like scattered jewels in the sands of time will never have fast food restaurants, a WalMart, shopping malls, or chain hotels. Instead the little mom and pop businesses flourish by serving the few travelers that find their way to this beautiful forgotten land. Even the 'resort' of Lajitas is modest, but utterly charming in its' old west style.
The lucky few who find this hidden treasure take pleasure in the many activities offered by local outfitters. It's not enough to just drive through….no one can hear the whisper of the land from inside a vehicle. To experience the magic that is here it is necessary to walk the land, ride a horse, or take a raft trip through some of the most spectacular scenery to be found in America. Water, over millenniums, has coursed its way through layers of rock to create the wonders presently called Santa Elena, Mariscal, Boquillas, and Colorado Canyon. The Rio Grande is the lifeblood for the land it touches, for the wildlife that lives on the land and for the resident who makes his home in the Big Bend.Although the Rio Grande has diminished its flow over the years from dams and upstream irrigation, year round rafting or canoeing is available. From the river one will enjoy birds more numerous in variety than any other park, legends of the ancient dwellers and the spectacular canyon walls that rise from rivers edge over 1500 feet to the sky. Go for a day, camp out under a canopy of stars on an overnight trip, or get away from it all for a multiday trip that is sure to mellow you mind and delight the child that lives within. The memories of Big Bend are as everlasting as the land itself.
Time stands still….the land stands majestic, uncluttered….the river lends its magic and the soul is soothed
Big Bend River Tours offers one day and overnight rafting trips on the Rio Grande throughout the year.